title: Bisphenol A exposure at an environmentally relevant dose induces meiotic abnormalities in adult male rats.
abstract: Whether environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) may induce reproductive disorders is still controversial but certain studies have reported that BPA may cause meiotic abnormalities in C. elegans and female mice. However, little is known about the effect of BPA on meiosis in adult males. To determine whether BPA exposure at an environmentally relevant dose could induce meiotic abnormalities in adult male rats, we exposed 9-week-old male Wistar rats to BPA by gavage at 20 μg/kg body weight (bw)/day for 60 consecutive days. We found that BPA significantly increased the proportion of stage VII seminiferous epithelium and decreased the proportion of stage VIII. Consequently, spermiation was inhibited and spermatogenesis was disrupted. Further investigation revealed that BPA exposure delayed meiosis initiation in the early meiotic stage and induced the accumulation of chromosomal abnormalities and meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the late meiotic stage. The latter event subsequently activated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related protein kinase (ATM). Our results suggest that long-term exposure to BPA may lead to continuous meiotic abnormalities and ultimately put mammalian reproductive health at risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Weixia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shangcheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Renyan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chunhai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mindi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yonghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hongjuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhengping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded / Q000187:drug effects; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D010636:Phenols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012670:Seminiferous Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal; D010636:Phenols; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds